What land is being acquired and where
The land is being acquired to upgrade the Arcot to Villupuram Road, which is State Highway 4. Because this is a state road, the acquisition is made under the Tamil Nadu Highways Act, 2001. It is not made under the National Highways Act or the 2013 central Act.
In total, 411 survey numbers in 22 villages are covered. The land lies in two districts, Tiruvannamalai and Viluppuram.
In Tiruvannamalai district the affected taluks are Arani and Polur. In Viluppuram district they are Gingee, Vikravandi and Villupuram.
The notices identify land by village and survey number. If your survey number or subdivision appears in a notice, that land, or the part of it described in the notice, is affected.
The notices and their stage
Three notifications have been published in the State Gazette, all under the Tamil Nadu Highways Act, 2001. The first is dated 18 May 2015 and covers 1 village. The second is dated 5 June 2015 and covers 7 villages. The third and latest is dated 6 November 2015 and covers 18 villages. Some villages appear in more than one notice, which is why these figures add up to more than 22.
None of the three notifications has been fully withdrawn, and none is recorded as having been corrected later.
Under this Act, the Government usually acquires land for a highway by publishing a notice under section 15(1). Once such a notice is published, the land described in it vests in the Government, free from encumbrances. There is no separate later declaration stage of the kind found under the 2013 Act or the National Highways Act.
The records summarised here do not show whether compensation has been determined or paid for any survey number. Do not treat the age of the notices as proof that the matter is settled or has lapsed. Confirm the position for your land with the land acquisition office.
Villages covered
Tiruvannamalai district, Polur taluk: Gangai Soodamani (142 survey numbers), Kannanur (38) and Indiravanam (32).
Tiruvannamalai district, Arani taluk: Thellur (65), Vinnamangalam (6), Nesal (3) and Velapadi (2).
Viluppuram district, Gingee taluk: Ottampattu (18), Sellapiratti (11), Kannalam (9), Annamangalam (7), Mavanthal (7), Palapattu (6), Kavarai (4) and Ponpathi (4).
Viluppuram district, Vikravandi taluk: Muttathur (40), Narasinganur (6), Memoor (5), Nemur (2) and Poondi (2).
Viluppuram district, Villupuram taluk: Arasalapuram (1) and Mandakapattu (1).
In Ponpathi, all 4 notified survey numbers are recorded as withdrawn. In every other village, no survey number is recorded as withdrawn.
What to do if your land is listed
First, compare your patta, chitta and adangal with the Gazette notice. Match the village, the survey number and the subdivision exactly. Note the extent the notice lists against your survey number, because often only a strip along the road is taken, not the whole survey number.
Second, if your land is affected, find out whether compensation has been determined and paid. Ask the land acquisition officer for the project, usually through the District Collectorate or the Highways Department division office. Bring proof of title so that your claim is recorded against the correct survey number.
If you are buying land in any of these villages, ask the seller for a written statement on acquisition and check the survey number against the notices. Check whether the extent in the documents allows for the strip that has been acquired. An Encumbrance Certificate alone may not show a Highways Act acquisition, so check the notices directly.
If your land is in Ponpathi, get a copy of the withdrawal so your records show that the survey number has been released.